Machinery for postmarking i



EMERY N. MOORE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINERY'FOR POSTMARKING LETTERS, &c.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 6,086, dated January 16, 1849. Y

To all whom z5 may concern:

Be it known that I, EMERY N. MOORE, ofv

Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State vof Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Machine for Stamping Letters or Packages with Post-Office Marks; and I do hereby declare that the same is fully described and represented in the following specification and accompanying drawings, letters, figures, and references thereof.

Of the said drawings, Figure l denotes a top view or plan of my said machine. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is a vertical and longitudinal section of the same' taken through the middle of one of the endless aprons. Fig. 4 is a side view of the upper or bed cylinder, and shows t-he beds, depressing cams, and upper set of fingers or grips applied to the external surface of the said cylinder. Fig. 5 is a side view of the lower or type holding cylinder and shows not only the recesses for receiving and holding the types, but the lower sets of grips or fingers, which act in concert with the upper sets of grips or fingers as will be hereinafter described.

The peculiar object of my machine is to imprint on letters or parcels or mailable matter usually deposited in post offices, for the purpose of being transported or sent in the mails, the usual post marks, such as the name of the place, date of reception of the letter and price to be paid for transmitting it, together with the word paid, or any other word, letter or letters, figure or figures, device or devices, that it may be deemed advisable to st-amp thereon. All this has heretofore been effected by stamps used in the hand of some oiicer of the post office, and where much business is done in an oiiice, this duty consumes much valuable time, and in consequence thereof, creates a consequent expense.

By the use of my machine, many thousand lett-ers may be stamped in a very short period of time, in comparison to what would be consumed were the usual process of accomplishing the same resorted to.

In the said drawings A, denotes the frame work of the machine which should be constructed in a manner suitable to sustain the operative parts directly applied to it. B, and C are two cylinders, the former or the larger or lower of which isl what may be termed the type holding cylinder because its main purpose is to hold and revolve the types or printing block or blocks, used to produce the required impressions or post marks upon the letters. The said blocks or types are shown at D, D. The cylinder B, is mounted on a shaft E, which is properly sustained in bearings which admitof its being revolved so as to revolve the cylinder. y On one end of the said shaft there is a fly wheel F. The shaft also has a-*g'ear wheel G, fixed upon it, which engages with another gear wheel H, fixed upon another shaft I, which is supported vby and turnsin boxes K, K. The upper or bed cylinder C, is

placed on the shaft I, and is revolved with it. The said cylinder supports two or any other suitable number of beds L, L, which are portions of thev curved surface of a cylin-v der and serve to sustain the letter when it ismade to pass bet-Ween them and the inking or printing surfaces'of the types or printing blocks. l The lower or type cylinder, maybe made of a diameter equal to, or any number of times greater than that of theother cylinder, according to the number of printing blocks it may be desirable to place in'one range around its periphery. In the drawings itis exhibited having adiameter double or about double that of the `upper cylinder, and as having two ranges of printing blocks D, D, and D, D. i

Each printing block of each range on the lower cylinder hasV a springk grip M or M', applied to the cylinder andv with respect to the block as seen in the drawings. There is another and somewhat similar spring grip N, or N applied to the upper cylinder adjacent to each bed L, L, as seen in the drawings. The spring vgrip N, or N, operates in connection with one of the two spring grips to be printed, and hold it firmly in place on i one of the beds, whileit is carried between' the two cylinders in order tobe printed, and receive an impression from one of the printf ing blocks or forms of type.

vI-Iaving thus described thatkypart of the'`r apparatus which producesimpressions` of types on a letter, or on several letters in succession it next becomes my province to explain that by which the letters are successively presented to the spring grips of the said aprons O, O', are seen; each being supported upon two rollers P, Q, and arranged as seen in the figures. The roller P, of each apron is fixed upon a horizontal shaft R (see F ig. 6, which represents a rear end elevation of the machine) which revolves in bearings S, S, secured to the under side of the table T, within which the endless aprons are arranged. On the outer end of the shaft R, is a pulley V, about which and a large grooved wheel or pulley V, fixed on the shaft of the lower cylinder, a band W, passes so as to communicate motion to both the endless aprons when the lower cylinder is put in revolution. inclined spout X or X', disposed at right angles to it, and over the table T, as represented in the drawings. The letters to be printed are laid in the spouts, and by the attendant are successively pressed down upon the endless aprons, as fast as it may be necessary to supply them to the printing machinery.

By the revolutions of the endless apron on which the letters may be placed, they are successively moved forward against spring stops Y, Y', which are seen at Y in F ig. 8, and also at Y, Y, Y', Y', in Fig. 7, which denotes a top view of the inner end of the table T or that part ofit which projects under the upper cylinder, and is not seen in Fig. l. Each of the said spring stops is nothing more than a small bent spring so applied to the front end of the table as to project above `the same and arrest the forward movement of a letter when it is moved in contact with them by one of the endless belts. j At a proper time and just before two of the spring grips of the cylinders are brought around and together so as to seize the letter, the saidspring stops Y, Y, of each endless apron, are depressed by cams Z, Z, Z, suitably placed upon the surface of the upper cylinder; as soon as the depression of the stops is eected, the endless apron upon which the letter should still rest a short distance, will immediately cause the letter to advance and far enough soas to be seized between and by the two spring l grips which may be in the act of approaching toward one another for the purpose of receiving or seizing the letter.

The nextportion of the machine is that by which the types or printing surfaces are inked. It does not differ materially from such as is in common use, on cylinder printing machines. kIn such of the drawings as the saine yare shown a denotes an ink fountain, and Z) a large distributing cylinder, c, is a small conveyer lor roller for conve-ying ink from the surface of the fountain roller cl, to that of the distributing drum or cylinder. It is applied to arms f, h7, extending from a rocker shaft e, which has a long bent arm g projecting forward from it, and

Each endless apron has an` or types.

over a cam or wiper z, fixed on the shaft E, the said cam being so made and arranged as to cause by its action Von the said arm, the conveyer to move toward and against either the fountain roller or the distributing cylinder as occasion may require. The distributing cylinder is revolved by an endless `made'to operate in crossed helical grooves formed in a cylinder n' liXed on theshaft n. Or instead of such a contrivance to 0btain a lateral movement of the said cylinder any other well known and proper contrivance may be substituted.

.F rom the distributing cylinder the ink is transferred to the types or imprinting surfaces, by a roller o, which is suspended b arms, from a rocker shaft, p, the said sha having an arm g, extending from it, and resting upon a cam or wiper r, fixed on the shaft E, and made to revolve with said shaft and to so operate thetransferring roller o, by means of the arm as to cause said transferring roller at t e proper time `or times to move away from contact with the distributing cylinder, and come into or rest in contact with the inking types blocks or surfaces, which produce the post marks.

On one end of the shaft of the ink fountain roller is a ratchet wheel s, which has an impelling pawl t, resting upon its teeth,

"the said pawl being jointed to an arm fu.,

projecting from the shaft e. The movements of the said shaft cause the pawl to so act on the teeth of the ratchet wheel as to produce a gradual rotation of it and the fountain roller, in order to always present to the conveyer c, a fresh surface of ink.

The machine above described in `many respects resembles various machines in use for cylinder printing. I have however produced a combination of elements different 'from any such and adapted to a peculiar purpose, viz that of post marking letters and packages. As such letters or packages vary in thickness, either the beds which lsupport the said letters during the operation of post marking them, or the types or printing blocks should be sustained `upon springs, which will admit of their recession a little so as to allow of the passage of a letter of any ordinary thickness betweenV either of the said beds and its printing block In Fig. 3 the printing block is shown as resting upon a spring n, which is so disposed as to allow of the proper recession of the block, as occasion may require.

What I claim in my invention for 4post marking letters isj 1. The spring grips as applied in combination with the cylinders B and C, and letcapable of receding and adapting thernter conveyer and to each printing block and selves t0 letters or parcels f various thickbed substantially as described. nesses as specified.v

2. yI claim spring stops Y,l and apparatus In testimony 'whereof I have hereto` set 5 for Working them; as applied inl connectionv rny signature this eleventh day of February 15 With each endless belt or apronv and `the' 'A. D. 184.8. spring grips and made to loperette substanf EMERYN. MOORE.

tially as specified. Witnesses:

3. And lastly I claim to make the beds or f R. H. EDDY, 10 printing surfaces or blocks, so as to be GALEBy EDDY.' 

